I was surprised how much smaller the new drill was than my old one, the brushless combi design is much smaller back to
front than the Ryobi combi (and smaller than the Ryobi impact driver)
The adapter to use Ryobi One+ batteries on a Makita LXT tool finally arrived.
First impressions are that the adapter is well made to adequate tolerances.
The spring loaded lug to latch onto the Makita tool works fine and the battery electrical connectors
look sufficiently heavy duty. Couldn't see the internal cables without dismantling but I drilled a series of large holes
using the adapter and a Ryobi battery, nothing seemed to be heating up.
Not mentioned in the listing but the adapter has a USB port on the top where all the auxiliary tool to battery connections are
on a Makita battery. Didn't trust my phone to it but it charged a small Lidl driver without problem. Would discharge the
battery eventually but the current drain of an unused USB port should be small.
Prior to ordering I'd had a look at the ergonomics of using a tool with an adapter.
The Ryobi right angle drill is taller than the Makita with adapter and Ryobi battery
is likely to be. In normal use the right angle drill can be a bit unwieldly because the trigger and grip
are down at the bottom of the body. Holding it up close to the head where the Makita trigger will be
it proved perfectly manageable so the only concern was the fit.
Both Malita drill and Ryobi battery locked in securely to the adapter so I'm well pleased. I can transition to Makita
as tools wear out while keeping use of my Ryobi batteries.
I expect this is probably only of interest to a few hobby woodworkers wanting to move from Ryobi kit.
Moving from Ryobi to a more premier brand is not something a professional would do, they would start off with
professional kit. Interestingly it seems Ryobi is the only manufacturer where it's certain there is a complete management
system within the battery. Ryobi had a design philosophy that their new Li-Ion batteries should be backwards compatible with previous generation
One+ tools originally designed for Ni-Mh batteries. Therefore all the battery management has to be in the Li-Ion
battery with no interaction with the tool.
Makita, DeWalt and Milwaukee batteries all need signals from sensors in the tool to prevent a damaging deep discharge.
With the hallucinations in generative AI it's hard now to know just how trustworthy the
search engine responses can be but consistently all the info I found online supports this.
Internet quotes.
" Ryobi places its primary protection circuitry, including the Battery Management System (BMS), within the battery itself.
• Protections: This circuitry monitors cell voltage and temperature, and will cut power to prevent the cells from being
over-discharged or over-current conditions.
• Tool Interoperability: Because the protection is in the battery, Ryobi batteries can be safely used in a wider variety of non-Ryobi tools (with an adapter) without risking deep discharge of the cells. This design choice allows older, non-Li-ion compatible Ryobi tools to function (the protection is in the battery, not the tool)."
Makita, DeWalt and Milwaukee all implement their battery management systems requiring communication between tool and battery so for adapters
it's necessary for the user to monitor voltage (or charge little and often) to prevent over-discharge.
"Makita employs a combination of protection within the battery pack and relies on communication with the tool and charger for full system protection.
• Battery-side Protection: Genuine Makita LXT batteries have an internal cut-off safety feature (a MOSFET switch) that acts as a backup, typically cutting power around 12.5 volts when under high current draw (around 5 amps).
• Tool-side Protection: For normal operation, the battery uses a "D" pin to communicate with compatible Makita tools, signalling them to stop drawing power when the voltage is low. This is the primary mechanism for most Makita tools.
• Compatibility Note: Older or non-genuine (clone) Makita batteries may have less sophisticated or absent protection circuits, which is why they can be more susceptible to damage from over-discharge when used in non-Makita devices or certain low-draw applications like site radios.
DeWalt and Milwaukee primarily rely on a combined system where the battery has basic charge/temperature monitoring features (like individual cell monitoring and temperature sensing), but the crucial protective functions, such as low-voltage cut-off and overadaptorload protection, are managed by the electronics within the tool and the charger (part of their "total system communication," REDLINK Intelligence for Milwaukee). This design is more cost-effective for them, as the complex circuitry can be placed in the more expensive tools rather than every single battery.
Important Note for Users: Due to these differing design philosophies, using an adapter to run a DeWalt or Milwaukee battery on a non-native tool (especially one without the necessary communication protocol) can damage the battery by over-discharging it, as the tool won't tell the battery when to shut off."
